


Reading while walking is not safe nor efficient

by Kris_lazycat



Series: Etrian Odyssey modern au [2]
Category: Etrian Odyssey Series, 新・世界樹の迷宮 ミレニアムの少女 | Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Concussions, Fafnir is a great wingman, Highlander is named Rei, M/M, Mira is done with her brother's bullshit, Prompt Fic, Rei is a nice guy who genuinely enjoys helping others, Simon has bad habits, and maybe he thought Simon was cute, reading while walking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24089905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kris_lazycat/pseuds/Kris_lazycat
Summary: Rei physically winces, when the silver haired man he'd eyed while waiting for the light to turn green slams against a pole, hard enough to fall back on his ass.He was never one to walk away.
Relationships: Highlander/Simon Yorke
Series: Etrian Odyssey modern au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737040
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Reading while walking is not safe nor efficient

**Author's Note:**

> On the prompt "they meet when Rei sees Simon walk into a street sign" and I kinda forgot it was a street sign, but the outcome is pretty much the same anyway lol, enjoy~

The sun is slightly covered by clouds. Normally, this wouldn't be an inconvencience at all, but as it stands Simon needs all the light he can get in order to make out the words on the pages of his anatomy book, as he skims feverishily through the pharagraphs even though _you have been studying non-stop for weeks and are already the best in your grade, you'll knock 'em dead,_ as Fafnir had put it. His brother is smart, but he's not aware of the hardships that the study of medicine brings about, and for such reason, this will be the only instance where Simon won't take his word. He starts mumbling and walks even faster, focusing only on the words.

_So then, the endocrine and exocrine components of the pancreas participate in different metabolic activities: the main function of the endocrine pancreas is the regulation of blood glucose, whereas that of the exocrine pancreas is the production of digestive enzymes. Lesions of-_

Lesions to his skull, as his head, lowered to read the words more closely, slams against a pole on the sidewalk hard enough to make stars dance in front of his eyes.

"Aah..." a groan of pain leaves his lips as he presses his hand to his forehead. It's gonna leave a bruise, and Mira and Fafnir will never let him hear the end of it. His palm presses against the cement of the sidewalk, and he struggles to seat up. When he does, the action triggers in him such a strong wave of nausea that he is compelled to lay back down and cry- but he's not a child anymore, so he grits his teeth and blinks back the tears.

Allright, he is sitting now. The next step is to try and open his eyes, but he quickly realizes it's no use: everything is blurry. He needs to find his glasses in order to move, and curses internally when he realizes he'll need to _move_ to find his glasses, and there's no way he can make out two pieces of glass on a dirty sidewalk without being able to see clearly two feet from his nose. _Fuck._

What to do? Calling for help would be the best option, even if he can't see the screen well without his glasses (which are lost). He moves his hand to his pocket when a voice calls out to him.

"Ehy, are you okay?"

Simon stops in his tracks and looks up, to the voice. The tone is concerned, he notes, and he can make out a figure in blue in front of him, and not much else. The figure crouches down, and he can now make out a mop of brown, that he can only assume must be the person's hair. Something touches his hand and he flinches away on instinct. There's a beat of silence.

"Sorry, it just looks like you could use the help. I'm Rei." The boy (man?) explains. Simon flushes in embarassment, but composes himself quick enough, extending his hand slightly.

"Of course. I should be apologizing for my reaction, it was my bad." The boy makes a sound of acknowledgement and takes his hand, helping to his feet. The action causes a second wave of nause to hit the silver haired man like a truck, and he folds like a card table as the strangers holds him firmly, yet gently.

If Simon had had any breakfast that morning, it would be out on the pavement by now. His ears start ringing, and he thinks the man is saying something, but it's drowned out by the loud noise present inside of his own head. Tears prickle at his eyes, and he chokes back a sob. He can't remember the last time he's felt so vulnerable and small, and he can't stand it.

Gradually, he realizes he's not standing, but is rather on his knees, as calloused hands is rubbing circles on his back soothingly, and the humming of a soft tune reaches his ears. It takes him another minute to remember what was going on, and he leans back (slowly, because he doesn't make the same mistake three times) and alarmingly registers that the stranger is close enough that he can feel his breath on his own face, but he is still unable to see him clearly.

"Wait a moment. Look at me," that is the only warning Simon gets before the same hand that was rubbing circles against the material of his turtleneck comes to rest on his cheek. It's not warm, but it's not cold either, and he can appreciate it. He does his best to look in the boy's - Rei, was it? - eyes, but he can barely make them out.

There’s the click of a tongue, and the digits are off off his cheek. Then, he feels an arm sneaking around his waist. He has the mind to feel embarassed as he feels himself getting pressed against a slim but toned body, and he croaks out a confused succession of sounds that were meant to be an indignant _what do you think you're doing,_ but likely ends up being gibberish. The boy speaks patiently.

"Don't worry, I'm accompanying you to the nearest hospital. I'm pretty sure you have a concussion, so you should try not to strain yourself. Someone already called an ambulance, so let's find somewhere to wait comfier than the cold hard ground, okay?"

Simon just nods and tries to walk along, but his legs seem to hinder him, and he ends up being dead weight.

He feels so embarassed by this whole ordeal that he wishes he'd just passed out on the spot. Maybe the sidewalk will open and swallow him whole if he wishes hard enough, but he's afraid he might drag the kind boy with him, and that would be mortifying, so he rafrains from trying.

They find a bench and sit. He doesn't remember much after that: leaning on a shoulder, then a bed. A hand is constantly holding his own, and that keeps him calm.

-  
-

The first thing he feels opening his eyes is confusion. The mattress is too hard, the pillow too fluffy, the room too white. He tries to sit up, but the movement causes dizziness, and then it's all coming back to him. He groans and fists the blanket on his body.

"He's awake!" a familiar voice says, and he hears quiet footsteps approaching. A nurse. She asks him standard questions and informs him that yes, he did have a concussion, and yes, a boy in a blue blazer had carried him there, and yes, his sibling were waiting to see him.

If the bed wants to eat him, now would be the moment, but alas, nothing happens. Nothing aside many sets of footfalls entering the room, and he doesn't need to open his eyes in order to see the expression of fury in his older sister's eyes, or the worried frown of his adopted younger brother.

"You slammed into a pole while reading!? For God's sake! How many times have I told you-" he winced as Mira started her onslaught, but relaxed when Fafnir stopped her. He'd have to thank him later.

"Don't get me wrong" the familiar voice if his brother came, talking to him now "we'll scold you plenty when you're in the condition of taking it."

Simon just sighs weakly, "of course", and grimaces at how strained it sounds. There's a moment of silence before Fafnir speaks up again, an unforeseen smugness in his voice, "by the way. I've met the guy who brought you here. Nice one, quite the catch. I'm actually convinced you walked into that pole because you were too busy staring at him than the road."

Simon squawks, eliciting a round if giggles from his sibling as he tries to gather his defense.

"I was NOT- I didn't- I don't even know what he LOOKS LIKE." he crosses his arm, altogether offended and satisfied, before a thought occurs to him.

"Where is he anyway?"

"Oh? Interested are you?"

"No. I just want to thank him. Shut up."

Mira answers him, "he left when we arrived. Said he couldn't stick around much longer."

"Oh, great.... I feel like a douche." Emma gasps, and Mike points out he's said a bad word, and Simon is tired.

"Don't worry, you can thank him later."

Simon scrunches up his eyebrows in confusion. 

"I don't know him or know what he looks like," wait a moment Fafnir couldn't.... he wouldn't have _dared_ to-

"I gave him your number."

Simon jumped in a sitting position, nausea be damned, to see his brother's blurred figure walking towards the door.

"You WHAT!?"

"You're welcome!" Fafnir stops at thw door, surely to throw back at him a wolfish smile the he is unable to see, before disappearing behind the doorframe. Simon falls back on the pillow with a _'plop',_ feeling his soul leave his body.

-

A week later Simon is well enough to be allowed using his phone. He'll have to take the anatomy exam on another date because he was hospitalized, but he'll manage.

Looking at his messages, one sticks out. {"Ehy, i hope you feel better soon. Your siblings seemed to be worried for you, but I'm sure you can manage. P.S. reading while walking is a bad idea, I hope you don't do it again."} _Rei._ He frowns at the mention of his reading, and decides to busy his hands by clicking on the boy's profile picture, and he feels his face heat up. He really is quite a catch.

He will have to thank Fafnir again.

**Author's Note:**

> Mmmmmm I am once again over here dropping my uwu's on the boys- also, of you didn't read my last fic, Fafnir is Simon's adopted brother in my modern au because why not~


End file.
